Sewing machine with changeable color scheme



Sept. 29, 1964 H. DREYFUSS 3,150,623

SEWING MACHINE WITH CHANGEABLE COLOR SCHEME Filed March 29, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

Henry Dreyfuss WITNESS f BY my.- V y W A'FZJRNEY Sept. 29, 1964 H. DREYFUSS 3,150,623

SEWING MACHINE WITH CHANGEABLE COLOR SCHEME Filed March 29, 1961 '2 Sheets-Sheet 2 WITNESS TORNE Y United States Patent 3,150,623 SEWING MACHINE WITH CHANGEABLE COLOR SCHEME Henry Dreyfuss, South Pasadena, Calif., assignor to The Singer Company, a corporation of New Jersey Filled Mar. 29, 1961, Ser. No. 99,252 3 Claims. (Cl. 112-258) This invention relates to family type sewing machines and more particularly to means for adapting the color scheme of a sewing machine to the color scheme of the room in which the said sewing machine will be used and the primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved arrangement whereby the color scheme of a sewing machine can easily be changed.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sewing machine having changeable color plates and a transparent shield designed to hold and protect the said color plates.

A further object of the invention is to provide a means whereby an emblem carried by a transparent shield will be illustrated regardless of which of a plurality of color schemes is used.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved storage means, formed as part of a sewing machine, whereby a plurality of color plates to be used to decorate the machine can be stored.

With the above and other objects in View, as will hereinafter appear, the invention comprises the devices, combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter set forth and illustrated in' the accompanying drawings of a preferred embodiment of the invention, from which the several features of the invention and the advantages attained thereby will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a family type sewing machine embodying a preferred form of the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken substantially on the plane 2-2 of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken on the plane 3-3 of FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken on the plane 44 of FIG. 1,

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken on the plane 5-5 of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing certain elements of the sewing machine illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 5, inclusive,

Referring in detail to the drawings, the present invention is shown as applied to a family type sewing machine 16 having a frame including a bed 17, the upper portion of which forms a work supporting surface 18. A substantially L-shaped bracket arm 19, having a vertically rising standard 20 and a horizontally extending overhanding arm 21, is positioned above the work supporting surface 18, and the free end of the arm 21 terminates in a head 22 designed to support a presser bar 23 and a needle bar 24.

The front of the bracket arm 19 is formed with a boxlike protuberance 26 having a rim 27 formed with a horizontally extending top rim portion 28, a curved rim portion 29, an upright end rim portion 31, a curved rim portion 32, a horizontal bottom rim portion 33, a curved rim portion 34, an upright rim portion 36, a curved rim portion 37, a horizontal rim portion 38, a curved rim portion 39, an upright rim portion 41, and a curved rim portion 42, the latter joining with the previously mentioned top rim portion 28.

The rim 27 is provided with a rabbet 43 which extends completely around the inside of the rim 27 and thereby forms a relatively shallow, substantially L-shaped, rab- 3,156,623 Patented Sept. 29, 1964 "ice betted rim cavity 44. In addition to the rim cavity 44, the arm 21 is formed with a cavity 46 (FIG. 2) of suflicient depth to receive an electric socket 47 and an electric lamp 48 and communicating with one end of the cavity 46 is a cavity 49 preferably of less depth than the cavity 46. An electric switch 51 passes through a hole formed in an inner wall 52 of the sewing machine 16. The cavities 46 and 49 also accommodate portions of electric wires 50 which provide electric power to the socket 47 and which connect the socket 47 to the switch 51. The switch 51, which is held by a nut 53, extends forwardly through the cavity 49, through the cavity 44 and then extends beyond the forward face of the rim 27. The free end of the switch 51 is threaded and thereby carries a holding means in the form of a knurled nut 54. A wall 56 of the sewing machine 16 is provided with a threaded hole 57 designed to receive a screw or other holding means 58. The wall 56 is also apertured as at 59 and thereby accommodates an operating handle 61 of the sewing machine 16.

In addition to the previously mentioned items, the sewing machine 16 is equipped with a plurality of, in this case three, inner color plates 66-G, 66-P and 66-13. The front faces of the shown plates 66-G, 66-P and 66-B are respectively colored gold, pink and blue. it will be understood that other suitable colors may be used. Also the sewing machine 16 is equipped with an outer transparent shield 6'7. The shield 67 and each of the plates 66-G, 66-P and 66-B are substantially L-shaped and are of such size and form as to be received by the previously described rim cavity 44. The shield 67 and each of the plates 66-6, 66-P and 66-B are each formed with three apertures 71, 72 and 73. Apertures 71 acommodate the threaded end of the switch 51, apertures 72 accommodate the handle 61 and apertures 73 accommodate the screw 58. The transparent shield 67 carries a translucent insignia 74 and, at a position to be in register with the insignia 74, each of the plates 66-6, 66-P and 66-13 is provided with an aperture 76.

When in use, the subject sewing machine is used in the following manner. If, for example, a homemaker wishes to locate her sewing machine in a blue room, she will unscrew the nut 54 and the holding means 58. Then she will remove the transparent shield 67 and the three color plate 66-G, 66-P and 66-13. Next, she will place the three color plates into the rabbetted rim cavity 44 making sure that the blue plate 66-B is on top. Then she will cover the plate 66-3 with the transparent shield 67, and replace the holding means 54 and 58. By performing the above operation, the homemaker has transformed her sewing machine into a machine suitable for use in a room with a blue decor. Also, the homemaker has not only changed the color scheme of her sewing machine, but she has also stored the unused color plates 66-6 and 66-P, and she has arranged the color plates 66-6, 66-P and 66-B in such a manner that the electric lamp 48 will provide illumination, by way of the apertures 76 in the color plates 66-13, 66-G and 66-P, for the insignia 74 carried by the transparent shield 67. While in the drawings, the color plates are illustrated as stored preferably in the cavity 44, it is not necessary that more than the desired one of the plates be mounted behind the shield 67.

Having thus set forth the nature of this invention, what I claim herein is:

1. A sewing machine having a bed and a bracket arm formed with a deep cavity, an electric lamp in said deep cavity, a box-like rim having a rabbet, said rim protruding from the front face of said sewing machine bracket arm and defining the boundaries of a relatively shallow cavity, a transparent shield positioned in said shallow cavity, a color means positioned in said shallow cavity in contact with the inner surface of said transparent shield,

and means for holding said shield and said color means in position in said cavity.

2. A sewing machine having a bracket arm formed with a plurality of deep cavities, an electric lamp in one of said deep cavities, a switch in the other of said deep cavities, a rim having a rabbet, said rim protruding from the front face of said bracket arm and defining the boundaries of a relatively shallow cavity, an apertured transparent shield positioned in said shallow cavity, color means positioned in said shallow cavity in contact with the inner surface of said transparent shield, and a combination holding means and switch operating means passing through apertures in said shield and said color means for maintaining said shield and said color means in said cavity.

3. A sewing machine having a bed and an L-shaped bracket arm, said bracket arm comprising a vertical portion and a horizontal portion, said horizontal portion being formed with a deep cavity, an electric lamp in said deep cavity, a box-like rim having a rabbet, said rim protruding from the front face of said vertical and horizontal portions of said sewing machine bracket arm and defining the boundaries of a relatively shallow L-shapcd cavity, an L-shaped transparent shield positioned in said shallow cavity, a color means positioned in said shallow cavity in contact with the inner surface of said transparent shield, and means for holding said L-shaped shield and said color means in position in said cavity.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,627,468 Stitt May 3, 1927 1,802,170 Colbert et a1. Apr. 21, 1931 2,046,745 Hoag July 7, 1936 2,411,459 Perkins et al Nov. 19, 1946 2,741,202 Pfaff Apr. 10, 1956 OTHER REFERENCES Electrical Merchandising (McGraw-Hill publication, September 1957), Westinghouse advertisement. 

1. A SEWING MACHINE HAVING A BED AND A BRACKET ARM FORMED WITH A DEEP CAVITY, AN ELECTRIC LAMP IN SAID DEEP CAVITY, A BOX-LIKE RIM HAVING A RABBET, SAID RIM PROTRUDING FROM THE FRONT FACE OF SAID SEWING MACHINE BRACKET ARM AND DEFINING THE BOUNDARIES OF A RELATIVELY SHALLOW CAVITY, A TRANSPARENT SHIELD POSITIONED IN SAID SHALLOW CAVITY, A COLOR MEANS POSITIONED IN SAID SHALLOW CAVITY IN CONTACT WITH THE INNER SURFACE OF SAID TRANSPARENT SHIELD, AND MEANS FOR HOLDING SAID SHIELD AND SAID COLOR MEANS IN POSITION IN SAID CAVITY. 